1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical instrument and a medical instrument system which perform a surgical procedure such as coagulation/hemostasis or incision with respect to tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to perform a surgical procedure such as coagulation/hemostasis or incision with respect to tissue, there is generally known a medical instrument including a pair of jaws which are opened/closed and hold tissue, and an operation section used to open/close these jaws. A heater element which generates heat when energized is provided to one or both of the jaws in the medical instrument. Generating the heat by the heater element when tissue is held between the jaws of such a medical instrument enables a heat treatment for, e.g., coagulation of the tissue or incision of coagulated tissue. Therefore, the medical instrument is usually utilized in various surgical cases such as stanching of blood included in tissue, cautery or coagulation of a diseased part or a bleeding part in a surface layer of tissue, or occlusion of an oviduct for the purpose of contraception.
When conducting various surgical procedures such as blood stanching, cautery, coagulation, occlusion or incision of tissue by using the medical instrument, compression, grasping, exfoliation or the like of target tissue or peripheral tissue is mechanically carried out by using surgical instruments such as an exfoliation forceps in advance before such surgical procedures. A surgical operation to assure a working (insertion) area of an endoscope, a visual field of an operator or a working area of a medical instrument is performed in advance.
For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-198137 discloses a medical instrument in which a heater element such as a ceramic heater is provided to at least one of a pair of jaws which are opened/closed. In the medical instrument, a heater plate (treatment portion) which comes into contact with tissue and protrudes with an edged tool shape is provided to at least one jaw. A heater element as a heat source portion is fixed to the heater plate in order to transfer the heat generated by the heater element to the heater plate. Therefore, tissue which is in contact with or pressed against the heater plate can be subjected to a heat treatment.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-340349 discloses a medical instrument having a heater element such as a ceramic heater being provided to one of a pair of jaws. A heat-insulating member which comes into contact with the heater element is arranged to the other jaw. Therefore, when one jaw is in contact with the other jaw, heat is not released from the heater element, thereby improving the heat transfer efficiency of a treatment.
For example, Jpn. Pat. Appin. KOKAI Publication No. 8-294494 discloses a tweezers type high-frequency galvanosurgery medical instrument. The medical instrument electrically insulates respective parts other than electrode portions at ends of a tweezers type arms having the elasticity. A bipolar high-frequency current is passed between a pair of opposed electrodes of the arms with tissue sandwiched therebetween. Then, the tissue can be electrically coagulated or incised.